Companies
14/08/2023

Following A Fire Investigation, Nikola Recalls All Battery-Electric Trucks And Suspends Sales




After an examination into recent fires revealed a coolant leak inside a battery pack as the reason, Nikola said that it was recalling all of the battery-powered electric trucks that it had delivered up to that point and that it was suspending sales.
 
A Nikola representative told Reuters that the business is recalling 209 battery-powered electric trucks that are currently being sold by dealers and consumers and is in the process of getting in touch with everyone involved.
 
A "minor thermal incident" on one pack on a parked engineering-validation truck on Thursday, the business claimed, corroborated the initial conclusions of the investigation by a third party investigator. It should be noted that no one was hurt.
 
"Foul play or other external factors were unlikely to have caused the incident," Nikola said in a statement, adding efforts were underway to provide a remedy.
 
When the business opened an investigation in June after vehicles at its Phoenix, Arizona, headquarters caught fire, it had stated that it suspected foul activity. One damaged truck that was being monitored at the Phoenix location re-ignited last month.
 
According to internal examinations conducted by Nikola's safety and engineering teams, a single supplier component found inside the battery pack is most likely what caused the coolant leak that started the fires in the cars.
 
Nikola made the decision to produce battery electric trucks exclusively to order and focus on hydrogen fuel cell trucks as a result of supply chain bottlenecks and less demand.
 
On August 4, Nikola selected Chairman Stephen Girsky, a former GM executive, as its fourth CEO in four years.
 
As it waits for "critical" extra funding, the company raised "substantial doubts" about its ability to operate as a going concern for the upcoming 12 months. This is the third time since February that it has issued this warning.
 
Nikola urged users and dealers of its Tre battery-powered trucks to take immediate safety precautions, including thinking about parking them outside, on Friday.
 
After the close, Nikola's stock plunged as much as 5.6%.
 
(Source:www.deccanherald.com)

Christopher J. Mitchell
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